Amy Hammond of Kaneohe was buying organic sweet corn at the Kailua market on a recent Thursday. When she buys at a farmers’ market, she said, “I know it’s going to be fresh and it’s going to be good. Plus, I could buy it in small quantities too, where if you go to the grocery store you feel like you’re buying a whole lot at one time.” A few feet away, apple bananas were selling briskly at Theng’s Farm stand. “King” Thephsourinthone, a tall 20-something man clad in a grocer’s apron, waited on customers.

Someone asked Thephsourinthone when the bananas were picked. “These were picked about four days ago,” he noted, as compared to supermarket bananas, which might be harvested up to a month in advance. When they are this fresh, he remarked, “You’re going to get the full taste of the banana. It’s not going to be bland.” At the Kailua market, shoppers start milling around the farm stands before the 5 p.m. opening time. Right on the hour, someone blasts a loud air horn and suddenly everyone springs into action. After a half hour, cooking aromas start to fill the air – barbequed ribs, spicy chili, the seductive smell of garlic – and people gravitate toward the concessions.

Families huddle around benches and share samples. Some just sit and enjoy the live music; one recent evening, a duo from Wiki Waki Woo played steel guitar and ukulele, singing oldies like “Ukulele Lady” and “Pineapple Princess.” Jeanne Vana’s tomato stand is one of the busiest. Customers line up to try the fried green tomatoes (she displays a copy of the Fannie Flagg novel “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café” near the checkout stand). Vana prepares hers with a local twist. “We use panko (Japanese bread crumbs) instead of corn meal, and it’s crunchy instead of soft,” she revealed, “And you cook it in a wok instead of a skillet.”

Green tomato pie

“Apples can’t be grown here in Hawaii,” noted Vana, “So we came up with something that can grow in Hawaii, which is the tomatoes. It has the same texture and taste and it’s better than green apple, [which] makes the best apple pie.” In addition to salad greens, herbs and meats, the Kailua and KCC markets offer fresh flowers: orchids, hibiscus, torch ginger, heliconia and other tropical varieties.

Lucy Hiraoka of Hiraoka Farms brings roses along with the farm’s vegetables and greens. Hiraoka said she plans to have red roses for Valentine’s Day, but there may be fewer blooms than usual because of the January cold snap. Ordinarily, she doesn’t have much demand for red roses.
“Most florists have your standard red, pink-whites or lavender,” she said. “We try to go for fragrance or brighter colors because people here in Hawaii usually like color in their house.” In the spring, Hiraoka plans to sell winter roses, spring gardenia, sunflowers, and others.

Chocolate lovers looking for a indulgence can find several options at the Kailua market. Chocolate hearts, chocolate-dipped strawberries and a “Chocolate Decadence Tart” are available at the Sweet Shop stand. Caterer and pastry chef Joslyn Benne also recommends the Raspberry-Chocolate Chambord Torte. At Hawaiian Fudge Sauce Company, spoon up samples of Kona coffee and macadamia-nut variations on “tutu’s original,” then compare it with the company’s premium product, made from “100% estate-grown Hawaiian chocolate.”

Local color

At the tiny Waialua Farmers’ Market, fruits and ethnic vegetables are for sale; the local atmosphere is free. At the site of the old Waialua Sugar Mill, a small group of immigrant farmers, former sugar workers, sell produce from plots of land they lease from Dole Foods Hawaii. The arrangement was made when the sugar mill closed in 1996 and the workers were left jobless. The Waialua Farmer’s Cooperative was formed to help the workers make the transition to farming. Edith Ramiscal, president of the Waialua Farmers’ Cooperative, stated that her goal is to expand the farmers’ market to more of a community market and to bring more business to Waialua.

“I grew up in Waialua and I’ve seen it go downhill, so I’m trying to help this town out. I’m interested in helping the town out and keeping it country,” she said. “We want it to be kind of a tourist destination because after all, Waialua Sugar Mill was the hub of Haleiwa, Waialua, Waimea, Mokuleia. … We want people to experience this,” Ramiscal declared. “And this is how Hawaii was born, with the immigrant farmers, the immigrant laborers that came in.”
On Saturday mornings, the Waialua market sells out in a couple of hours: apple bananas, tomatoes, garlic, lima beans, taro and more exotic produce such as kabocha pumpkins and katuday.

David Ancheta, standing near his family’s vegetable stand at the Waialua market, noticed a shopper puzzling over a bag of katuday. He offered some suggestions for preparing the edible white flower. First, you cook it a little bit, said Ancheta. “Then add spices, tomato, vinegar and salt, whatever you like,” he added. “Good for blood pressure.”

“I learn about the vegetables as I go along,” commented Goodwill, who shops weekly at the Waialua market. “I try to experiment with new ones at least once a month, and they tell me, oh, this gets boiled, this gets stewed, or you cook this with pork, it’s really good.

CLICK HERE FOR A LISTING OF CURRENT FARMER’S MARKETS ON OAHU AS OF JUNE 26, 2008

I raced home, called Lenny in Beverly Hills and related the story.

Calmly, Freeman asked me to do the following: get a letter from Hiro and pre-date it to the time the studio was built. In the letter, Lenny wanted Hiro to explain about the shares that he offered—tell the facts as they actually happened, including explaining that the stock certificates would be in his files any time Lenny wanted them.

Hiro did just that, and I mailed the letter to Lenny. When the CBS bosses eventually called Lenny for an important meeting a few weeks later, he brought along his briefcase with that letter.

Sure enough, the CBS suits brought up the matter of the stock certificates. They told Lenny that he could be charged with improper conduct and so forth. At the right moment, Lenny whipped out the letter and explained what happened. The red-faced brass quickly offered their apologies.

Then, Lenny told the executives they had better read their contract with him. Hawaii Five-O, he said, was introduced on the TV screen before every episode as a “Leonard Freeman Production in association with CBS.”

That, in effect, meant that Lenny had control of the show, including who could be hired—and fired.

Lenny informed the CBS brass that he would be getting on a plane to Hawaii right away, and the first order of business upon landing would be to visit Jack Lord and fire him.

“I don’t need the star of my show stabbing me in the back,” Lenny said.

After he arrived, Lenny and I had breakfast at the Kahala Hilton. “Now, wait here,” he told me. “I’m going next door to Jack’s apartment and fire that son of a bitch. When I come back in a few minutes, you can announce that the new top cop on the series will be Lloyd Bridges.”

I waited.

And waited.

Finally, Lenny returned.

“Well?” I asked.

He sat down, sighed and said, “Have you ever seen a grown man cry?”

After Lenny confronted Jack, the Five-O star nearly became hysterical. He said he did what he did because he thought it was in the best interest of the show. He said he didn’t mean to get Freeman in trouble. According to Lenny, Jack then prostrated himself on the floor, grabbed Lenny around the ankles, begged for forgiveness and sobbed.

“I just couldn’t fire him,” Lenny said, “On the positive side, he’s a hard worker. He’s dedicated to the show and does a first-class job. But I told him to just stick to his work and mind his own business—that one more stunt like this would be cause for dismissal.”

With that crisis averted, Five-O continued its roaring success. And my friendship with Lenny Freeman continued strong.

One of McGarrett’s police gang in Five-O was a big, burly Hawaiian professionally known as Zulu, whose real name was Gilbert Kauhi. Zulu was a popular Hawaiian entertainer and nightclub comedian. He was always in demand. Audiences loved him, and he became one of Five-O’s favorite personalities.

The show gave him international exposure and fame. His career was skyrocketing. No doubt, Zulu had a big future.

Then, in 1973, he made a fatal mistake. While shooting a street scene in downtown Honolulu, Zulu spied the show’s publicity man, Len Weisman. Len was a Hollywood veteran who once worked for the legendary Howard Hughes. On the Five-O set, Weisman answered only to Jack Lord.

Zulu walked over to Weisman between takes and began needling him about not getting enough publicity. Weisman explained that he only worked for Jack.
Zulu increased his vitriol at Weisman for not publicizing him more. The needling inexplicably turned into some vicious, anti-Semitic remarks.

Weisman was stunned at the attack. He didn’t know what to say. Those who witnessed the verbal fireworks were also stunned. Nobody could figure out what caused it all. Weisman, verbally battered, retreated to his office.

When Jack Lord returned to Five-O headquarters after finishing his scenes, he saw Weisman with his head resting on his desk. Jack asked what was wrong.
“Oh, nothing. I just don’t feel well,” said Weisman.

That answer was not good enough. Jack knew better. He wanted to know what the problem was, and kept after Weisman to tell him. Finally, Weisman explained what had happened with Zulu.

Jack hit the roof. He immediately went to the phone, called Lenny Freeman in Los Angeles and said he would not return to the set until Zulu was off the show. Permanently.

Zulu quickly got the word. He was through. Fired.

A few days later, Zulu came to my office at the Honolulu Advertiser. He was heartbroken. Totally dejected.

I told Zulu it was too late. He had really committed show biz harakiri.

News of his anti-Semitic attack against Jack Lord’s publicity man was all over Hollywood. Suddenly, Zulu’s future engagements for various personal appearances were cancelled. Professionally, he was treated like he had a contagious disease. Doors slammed in his face. The poor man was devastated.
He never worked on another TV show again. Overnight, Zulu went from a thriving show business career to professional oblivion.

More behind-the-scenes tales from the Five-O series: Bernie Oseransky, head of production for the show during its entire twelve-year run, recalled the time Jack screamed at Bill Finnegan, who produced the show for many years. Jack told Finnegan to “Get off my island.” Of course, Finnegan refused

Jack’s “order.” So Jack boycotted the show for a week until Hawaii Governor George Ariyoshi intervened and talked him into returning to work.

Jack involved himself in every aspect of the show’s production. He was a perfectionist and expected everyone to measure up to his exact standards. He also involved himself in many employees’ personal matters. Once, while walking near the Diamond Head sound stage, he passed a carpenter working on the production set and said hello to him. The carpenter, obviously somewhere else in his mind, didn’t return the greeting. Jack took this as a slight and had the man fired.

Basically, Jack was a loner. He seemed to trust only his wife, Marie. She was his everything. They were totally devoted to each other.

Jack Lord—born John Joseph Patrick Ryan—grew up in the Hell’s Kitchen section of New York and was, perhaps, Hawaii’s most famous export. Many people believed that there was an actual Hawaii Five-O police unit because of Lord’s solid characterization and the show’s gritty realism.

When the production ceased after twelve years and almost three hundred one-hour dramas, Jack shut himself off from just about everyone except his wife. He seldom ventured from his plush Kahala apartment, purchased during the early days of the show for $163,000—thanks to a loan from CBS. Today, that apartment would sell for many millions of dollars.

In his last days, Jack would occasionally be seen walking along the beach near his home, or shopping at Kahala Mall’s Star Market. My last conversation with Jack was while he sat behind the wheel of his twenty-year-old Cadillac parked outside the shopping center. His car was showing signs of rust. He favored Cadillacs because he once was a car salesman for the company in New York during his days as a struggling actor. Jack was waiting for Marie, who was doing a grocery run inside the market.

Jack kept asking me the same questions, over and over, interspersed with various statistics about Five-O. It was very sad and disturbing to see his obvious mental deterioration.

Not long after that, on January 21, 1998, Jack Lord died of congestive heart failure. He was seventy-seven.

Eddie Sherman is a retired newspaper columnist and lives in Honolulu.

“These creatures have incredible visual acuity and can, in fact, see you just as well as you can see them,” said Aquarium Director Dr. Andrew Rossiter. “They also have an amazing ability to change colors, almost instantaneously, to signal aggression, courtship and feeding.”

Very difficult to raise in captivity, Hawaiian Reef Squid have a typical
life span of about nine or 10 months.

ABOUT THE WAIKIKI AQUARIUM

Founded in 1904 and administered by the University of Hawaii since 1919, the Waikiki Aquarium is located on the shoreline of Waikiki Beach next to a living reef and across from Kapiolani Park. The Aquarium – third oldest in the U.S. – showcases more than 500 marine species, and maintains more than 3,000 marine specimens. Public exhibits, education programs and research focus on the unique aquatic life of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific.

The Aquarium welcomes more than 300,000 visitors annually, and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except Christmas Day. Admission is $9 for visitors; $6 for local residents, active duty military with ID, students with ID and seniors; $4 for youths ages 13-17 and persons with disabilities; $2 for juniors ages 5 to 12; and free for children 4 and under and Friends of Waikiki Aquarium (FOWA) members. For more information about the Waikiki Aquarium, including membership, please call 808-923-9741 or visit http://www.waquarium.org.

Soldiers are not sacrificial objects; they are full-fledged Americans with the same moral right as the rest of us to the pursuit of their own goals, their own dreams, their own happiness. Rational soldiers enjoy much of the work of military service, take pride in their ability to do it superlatively, and gain profound satisfaction in protecting the freedom of every American, including their own freedom.

Soldiers know that in entering the military, they are risking their lives in the event of war. But this risk is not, as it is often described, a “sacrifice” for a “higher cause.” When there is a true threat to America, it is a threat to all of our lives and loved ones, soldiers included. Many become soldiers for precisely this reason; it was, for instance, the realization of the threat of Islamic terrorism after September 11 that prompted so many to join the military.

For an American soldier, to fight for freedom is not to fight for a “higher cause,” separate from or superior to his own life—it is to fight for his own life and happiness. He is willing to risk his life in time of war because he is unwilling to live as anything other than a free man. He does not want or expect to die, but he would rather die than live in slavery or perpetual fear. His attitude is epitomized by the words of John Stark, New Hampshire’s most famous soldier in the Revolutionary War: “Live free or die.”

What we owe these men who fight so bravely for their and our freedom is to send them to war only when that freedom is truly threatened, and to make every effort to protect their lives during war—by providing them with the most advantageous weapons, training, strategy, and tactics possible.

Shamefully, America has repeatedly failed to meet this obligation. It has repeatedly placed soldiers in harm’s way when no threat to America existed – e.g., to quell tribal conflicts in Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. America entered World War I, in which 115,000 soldiers died, with no clear self-defense purpose but rather on the vague, self-sacrificial grounds that “The world must be made safe for democracy.” America’s involvement in Vietnam, in which 56,000 Americans died in a fiasco that American officials openly declared a “no-win” war, was justified primarily in the name of service to the South Vietnamese. And the current war in Iraq—which could have had a valid purpose as a first step in ousting the terrorist-sponsoring, anti-American regimes of the Middle East – is responsible for thousands of unnecessary American deaths in pursuit of the sacrificial goal of “civilizing” Iraq by enabling Iraqis to select any government they wish, no matter how anti-American.

In addition to being sent on ill-conceived, “humanitarian” missions, our soldiers have been compromised with crippling rules of engagement that place the lives of civilians in enemy territory above their own. In Afghanistan, we refused to bomb many top leaders out of their hideouts for fear of civilian casualties; these men continue to kill American soldiers. In Iraq, our hamstrung soldiers for years were prevented from smashing a militarily puny insurgency—and to this day are being murdered unnecessarily at the hands of an undefeated enemy, with no end in sight.

To send soldiers into war without a clear self-defense purpose, and without providing them every possible protection, is a betrayal of their valor and a violation of their rights.

This Memorial Day, we must call for a stop to the sacrifice of our soldiers and condemn all those who demand it. It is only by doing so that we can truly honor not only our dead, but also our living: American soldiers who have the courage to defend their freedom and ours.

Alex Epstein is an analyst at the Ayn Rand Institute, focusing on business issues. The Institute promotes Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand—author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead.” Contact the writer at media@aynrand.org.

“You mix it up at levels in most matches,” Mullins said. “There just aren’t that many good players around.”

Now a player of note in his late 20s, Mullins is one the few young quality polo players on Oahu. Polo isn’t exactly dying here, but it is not growing much either. There are enough horses and riders to make a match, but teams aren’t set and players freely play for most any team where they are needed for that day’s game.

Getting into the game isn’t easy, though you don’t need to be rich, per se. Just knowing how to ride is often enough.

Tiare Paty comes from a horse family, too, but polo skipped a generation there. It was her grandfather, a player from the 1970s, who got her into watching games. Paty said it helps to know someone with access to the sport. As a young adult she began as a groom, providing extra hands when horse owners needed them and in return she was taught the sport and has been playing now for several years.

“I had no concept of what polo was all about,” she said. Although growing up around horses, polo was so alien she had to learn from scratch as she rode. “It was kind of sink or swim,” Paty said, referring to the challenge of playing competitively with much stronger players while still learning.

Being a bona fide horse person is a huge advantage over learning both polo and riding simultaneously, although that does happen. Many local players learned the game and riding together, often at an informal local polo academy located on the North Shore of Oahu.

Teams try to match talent levels to have a fair game, but all too often neophyte players are paired against more experienced riders.

Another way to enter the sport is via a more traditional route of riding for a college-level team. Unfortunately, you need to go the mainland to find one, and then probably the east coast.

That’s what Jovanna Giannasio did. After leaving Hawaii for college several years back, she joined the polo team from Skidmore College, a four-year liberal arts school located in upstate New York.

Though already an accomplished horseperson like Paty, Giannasio knew little about polo when she took it up. At one of the few schools with a girl’s team (playing against such schools as Yale and Cornell), Giannasio quickly developed into a solid competitor and now, several years after graduation, competes regularly but still grooms for owners Bob Miller and Allan Hoe.

Historically, a game for kings and their royal courts, polo is now more for everyday people. Much like recreational aviation or serious sailing, it does take some affluence to obtain, care and provide for a string of polo ponies. Some owners laugh, though, when you suggest they’re “rich.”

Many polo horses, called ponies, are actually thoroughbreds and need to be run and played, if only for their fitness and well being. Due to the lack of qualified riders, many horse owners freely offer polo mounts to those riders who don’t own their own horses.

Polo player Paty rides four borrowed mounts during a match, while Mullins rides one horse he owns and is lent the rest.

“These horses are athletes themselves, they know where they are and can’t wait to mix it up,” said Giannasio. “It’s 80 percent horse and 20 percent rider.”
Experienced horses, too, are in short supply. Some are imported from South America, while a few come from New Zealand and the mainland.

The lack of both riders and horses is more a function of local geography than anything else. The limited environs available for both residences and horse ownership limits the appeal of Hawaii for many who want keep horses at their homes.

“This is tough for us. There is such a limited horse community here,” said Alice Lombardo, a long-time member of the club and responsible for the club’s more social activities. Lombardo, a Honolulu real estate broker, noted that land on Oahu for raising horses and playing polo is so limited that everyone already involved with horses pretty much know each other and their interests already.

Still the polo club is always looking for experienced horse people, even if they’ve never competed.

GETTING OFF THE FIELD

“You don’t have to play to love the game,” club literature says, “If you admire excellence, if the pursuit of perfection gives you a special tingle, polo is right up your alley.”

As a spectator, the sport offers a game somewhat like soccer, only with a ball the size of a softball that you strike with a six-foot-long mallet from atop a galloping horse going 35 miles an hour. Other than that, the game is played on a huge field, three times the length and three times as wide as an American football field. If you can follow soccer, hockey, or even basketball, you can follow polo scoring, at least.

Polo action is mostly continuous, again like soccer. Games last for four-to-six seven minutes periods, or chuckers. Four riders per team change horses for each chucker using up to 16 horses per team, 32 different horses per match.

Observers have one responsibility during the half-time intermission between the second and third chuckers – divot stomping. Visitors are encouraged to make their way onto the field and search out dislodged clumps of grass unearthed by the sudden stops and starts of the horses. Fans are expected to stomp these divots back into the ground.

While t-shirts, shorts and slippers are perfectly acceptable dress, many patrons follow the tradition of wearing their absolutely finest “Ascot Park” dresses and suits, along with hats of all manner and style. Tuxedos are optional since you will be welcomed with aloha and invited to participate with others, including the fancy-fancy people, whether you come dressed for style or comfort.

At Waimanalo Polo Grounds, casual visitors may come early and can plan to stay late. Sunday gates open at 1 p.m. for a 2:30 p.m. game.

Once in Waimanalo, turn into the grounds entrance immediately across from the McDonald’s Restaurant on Kalanianaole Highway near Patrick Ching’s Natural Hawaiian gallery with the life-size fiberglass horse atop the building.

Once on the grounds, you drive the width of the playing field alongside the edge to a grassy parking area down the length of the sidelines. You can park and enjoy the game with unobstructed views right from your car.

Picnicking, tailgating, bar-b-que, ice chests, coolers and even adult beverages are permitted, as are folding chairs and sunshades. Exit gates don’t close until around 7 p.m. so the whole family can make a day of it. Tickets are just $3 a head, under 12 free. Military with ID are always welcome without charge.

There is free polo literature at the snack bar in the grand stand. Ask for “How to Watch a Polo Match.” It will engage any thoughtful spectator who wants to know more about polo than just witnessing superior horsemanship and quality of play that the Honolulu Polo Club affords the public.

Polo social wonk Lombard encourages all residents and even visitors to join them any summer Sunday afternoon. “Bring your family and friends and enjoy one of greatest spectacles ever.

A financial professional who works in an downtown office building, polo player Paty relishes the days she can spend practicing and playing. “It’s good to get out of town,” she said, acknowledging the beautiful park-like polo grounds on the Windward side of Oahu.

As much a game to watch as play, getting into the social sport of polo is easier than jumping on horseback and joining the fray on the field.

“It is not all fun and games – there is serious drinking involved,” said a young, military social guest in the club’s grandstand. (He respectfully declined to identify himself on this particular Sunday afternoon, sir.)

In the stands and off the field, the consumption of adult beverages (in moderation) is permitted, if not encouraged, and is most often well-chilled champagne, but flavored martinis have been spotted from time to time. BYOB.

Even if you don’t know a soul or one end of a horse from the other, you can enjoy a polo match at Waimanalo. You don’t need anything but some lotion, a blanket and maybe a beach chair and umbrella for shade.

Some binoculars might be nice, along with some cold schnapps. By the end of the polo match, with the sun at your back, your Sunday afternoon will be fully engaging, one way or another.

The first time you come, you’ll have a great time. Even better the next. For more information, visit http://www.honolulupolo.com.

2008 Polo Season
Sundays
Matches start at 2:30 / Gates open 1:00

Location
Oahu’s windward side in beautiful Waimanalo
at the base of the spectacular Ko’olau Mountain Range. Field is on Kalanianaole Highway across from Bellows Beach.
Entrance is across from McDonald’s

Admission
$3.00 for adults / 12 and under are free
Military ID enter for free as honored guests.

The deadline for submitting applications to DLNR is 4 p.m. on Friday, August 10, 2007. A drawing will then be held to assign each cardholder a fishing date and time.

Processed entry cards sent back to applicants will indicate the date and time that fishers may enter the reservoir. Entry will be strictly limited to those who have appropriate entry cards. Anglers must participate during the period they are assigned to fish. There will be no make-up periods or refunds. Fishing will continue on consecutive weekends, Saturdays and Sundays only, until all anglers with assigned fishing times have been accommodated.

All cardholders will also be required to show a valid freshwater game fishing license while fishing. Those 8-years-old or younger are not required to be licensed, but must be accompanied by a licensed, supervising adult. All cardholders 15-years-old or younger must be accompanied by a supervising adult.

Freshwater game fishing licenses may be purchased at licensing agents (call 587-0100 for current locations) as follows:

Hawaii freshwater fishing licenses are also available online. For information go to https://www.ehawaii.gov/dlnr/fish/exe/fresh_main_page.cgi

The bag limit is two catfish per licensed angler. Any channel catfish 16 inches long or larger must be kept by the angler and be counted toward the bag limit. Catfish caught by unlicensed anglers 8-years-old or younger will be included in the bag limit for the licensed, supervising adult. However, cardholders 8-years-old or younger may purchase a license to obtain their own bag limit.

Each fishing day will be divided into four-hour fishing periods: a morning session from 7 to 11 a.m., and an afternoon session from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Warm clothing and rain gear are strongly recommended while fishing at Nu‘uanu reservoir. For further information, call DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources on Oahu at 587-0100.

The wooden-hulled, three-masted whaling ships of the 19th century have long been replaced by modern watercraft ranging from 140-passenger, multi-decked dinner cruisers with weather-proof viewing to inflatable, outboard Zodiac boats that virtually guarantee getting splashed.

Harpoons have been traded for digital cameras. Just spotting a whale and capturing its photographic image is presently a suitable trophy for a day’s outing. But there is more to the story than that.

Whales were important to a post-Cook Oahu beginning first in the early 1800s as the island’s second source of export income following sandalwood. Until the discovery of petroleum-based oil in the late 1850s, whale blubber (reduced to oil by boiling it) had been the young United States’ primary source of lamp oil. Hawaii-based whalers supplied most of the blubber.

With the age of exploration coming to an end, many a young man dreamed of joining up with a whaling company and sailing to the mystical South Seas. In the 1840s, one such young sailor a 21-year-old New Englander named Herman Melville signed on with the whaler Acushnet but later jumped ship while in port in the Marquesas Islands.

Several months afterward, Melville arrived in Honolulu and spent nearly a year on Oahu and Maui observing the whale trade. Subsequently, he gave the world the classic allegorical morality tale of good and evil, “Moby Dick.”

In “Moby Dick,” Ahab is the paradoxical captain of the whaling ship, Pequod. Having previously lost a leg to the Great White Whale, Ahab is all consumed with hate and revenge.

Today, Cale Wofford is the captain of the excursion vessel Navatek berthed at Pier Six in Honolulu Harbor. He isn’t vengeful, but he still has the singular mission of tracking down and finding whales not to harm them, but to greet them with a ship full of admiration and aloha.

Five days a week, he maneuvers the sleek, high-tech craft out to sea where just a mile or so off shore he patiently tracks down the elusive humpback whale using only his knowledge and experience. Cale, like Melville’s Ahab, stands tall with a strong, commanding presence but the similarities end there.

Captain Cale whose name may be derived from the Latin term “portus cale” meaning “warm harbor” smiles easily as he quietly explains the intricacies of tracking marine mammals off Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach. Manning the wheel of the 90-ton, twin-hulled Navatek, as he has for five years, the captain scans the horizon for the tell-tale wisps of spray forcibly expelled when a whale exhales and briefly exposes his back to the sky and to the captain’s watchful eyes.

“Thar she blows,” the passengers call out eagerly, as if reliving the romance of a bygone era. And then, showing her tail to the world, the whale is gone from sight just as quick.

At this point, the captain makes a written notation of the marine mammal’s relative position and so begins a playful, two-hour game of hide-and-seek. Cale will turn the cruiser on a heading he believes runs parallel to the course of the whales that usually travel in small groups, or pods, of two to more than a dozen. After a few seemingly long minutes, if his mental calculations are correct, the pod will surface again, only this time he will be in much closer and moving along the same line and speed as the quarry.

On deck, Navatek’s naturalist Nona Hanapi shares her aloha spirit and knowledge of the humpback whale with passengers from around the world. Not more than 30 minutes after casting off, the first whale is spotted. Like a curious animal, the Navatek draws in closer, but stays a safe distance away both in observance of the rules of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and for passenger safety.

Hanapi, a native of Oahu who studied marine biology at Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu, explained Humpback whales migrate from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska down the western U.S. coast to the Farallon Islands off central California and then all the way to the warm waters of the Hawaiian Islands. Here, they mate and give birth every year beginning in November and ending in May. At least 3,000 whales travel more than 3,500 miles in around five weeks to find the warm, shallow waters off Hawaii. Visitors saw at least four different whales this day, which is “about average,” Hanapi said.

Humpback whales also sing the loudest and most complex songs of all whales. They have long, often recognizable sequences of sounds using the largest range of auditory frequencies of all whales, often either too low or too high for humans to hear. Only males sing, it’s believed, and then only for mating.

On board the vessel, whale watchers are also treated to a buffet luncheon, comparable to any found in a Waikiki hotel, along with coastal sightseeing of downtown Honolulu, Waikiki and Diamond Head, and sometimes Kahala and Hawaii Kai, if that’s where the whales are that day. Everything in the two-and-one-half hour tour is included in a reasonable single price with substantial kama’aina discounts.

If you want more intimacy in whale watching adventures, there is Deep Ecology, based in Haleiwa. Known for its six-passenger, up-close-and-personal tours using high-speed inflatable watercraft, Deep Ecology tours yields more thrills while observing nature. Getting wet is part of the fun, according to tour operators.

“Our tours are a magical experience,” said Pat Johnson, owner of Deep Ecology. “By limiting the number of passengers, we can offer a special tour with a personal guide. The excursion talk seems more like colorful dinner conversation than a conventional tour boat.”

To Hawaiians, whales are often viewed as a symbol of the Hawaiian god, Kanaloa – the god of fish and ocean animals. Humpback whales or na kohola are found worldwide, visitors learned. Although believed to have arrived off Oahu long before mankind first showed up around 600 A.D., the first written accounts of the humpback here didn’t appear until the 1840s.

Just 20 years ago, the humpback was an extremely endangered species. Then, in 1992, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was created and formally approved by all levels of government in 1997. Since 1990, the humpback whale population has grown from an estimated 1,000 worldwide to nearly 10,000 in the north Pacific Ocean alone—and up to one-half of those visit the sanctuary each year.

Every winter, the sanctuary conducts a land-based whale count, positioning volunteer observers at various points on most of the state’s islands, including Oahu. On the last Saturdays of January, February and March, volunteers spot and count the whales, many of which can be individually identified by the distinctive markings on their tail flukes.

In addition to the annual count, the sanctuary hosts periodic, informal land-based whale watches at various Oahu locations including Diamond Head Scenic Lookout, Lana Lookout, Halona Blowhole and Makapuu Point.

If staying high and dry is your thing, or if you’d really like to know more about Megaptera novaeangliae and whaling, visit the Bishop Museum’s Hawaii Maritime Center, located on Pier Seven at Honolulu Harbor near the Aloha Tower Marketplace. The complete skeleton of a humpback whale that washed ashore on Oahu is displayed in the permanent whaling exhibit.

Docked in the water at Pier Seven is a 19th century four-masted sailing ship of some historical significance. No, she’s not the Pequod, a fictional three-masted Nantucket whaler, old and worn even before the great white whale rammed and sank her.

Here sits the The Falls Of Clyde, the world’s last remaining fully rigged, four-masted schooner. Although built in 1878, a few years after the whaling boom had past, it is still reminiscent of those days when the cry, “thar she blows” could be heard coming down from high atop the main mast and echoed below by all hands on deck.

Aye, Captain, thar be whales here, and there will be for a long time to come. Watch and see.

Contact information for companies and agencies mentioned:

• For Atlantis Adventures’ Navatek whale watching tours, call 973-1311.
• For Deep Ecology’s open boat tours, call 637-7946.
• For the national sanctuary whale count, times and dates of land-based whale watches, or to become a volunteer on Oahu, call its offices at 397-2651, ext. 253.
  ]]> 2007-03-03T21:23:00-10:00 http://www.oahuislandnews.com/index.php/site/wally-amos/ CIRCUMSTANCES By Wally Amos How many times have you known people who succumb to their circumstances? Too old, too young, not enough of this, too much of that. People often speak of being under the circumstances. They need to get on top of the circumstances. Recently, on a flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth to John F. Kennedy, I had the pleasure of meeting a flight attendant who did just that. Mindy was married for 28 years when without any notice, her husband left her. She was devastated, to say the least! However, she wasted no time feeling sorry for herself. She began flying again one year after her husband left her. She had two angioplasty surgeries plus a stent and went back to work full-time three months after surgery! She said her hardest hurdle was to relocate twice in different cities but with God’s help she made the most of circumstances. Mindy is a great example of our ability to get on top of circumstances. It’s not just in Mindy; it’s in every one of us.

  I have just finished reading, Touch The Top of The World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther Then The Eye Can See, by Erik Weihenmayer. Erik had problems with his sight as a very young child. However, Erik never accepted the limitations of being blind, nor did his parents. He insisted on living his life by his rules, not the limitations of others. True there were several times when Erik’s stubbornness nearly cost him his life, however, he learned from each experience and made the necessary adjustments in his attitude as he progressed.

  Because of Erik’s determination to climb farther than the eye can see, he succeeded in climbing the seven tallest mountains in the world and in the process became a reminder to us all that limitations only exist in our minds.

  What limiting thoughts are you allowing to prevent you from living life to the fullest? If Mindy and Erik can go beyond their fears and doubts so can you. Remember these words by Leonardo da Vinci as you expand your vision and climb the mountains in your life, “Obstacles cannot crush me; every obstacle yields to stern resolve.”

  Wally Amos lives in Lanikai. Amos is best known as the creator of the “Famous Amos” brand of chocolate chip cookie. In Kailua, Wally and Christine Amos have opened a retail store at 609 Kailua Road in Kailua for “Chip & Cookie,” the literacy dolls, home-made cookies and family reading programs they created.

  Visit http://www.chipandcookie.com.

  ]]> 2006-12-04T08:46:00-10:00 http://www.oahuislandnews.com/index.php/site/remembering-dec-7th-the-pacific-aviation-museum-where-history-flies-by/ “ATTACK WILL BE LAUNCHED AS FOLLOWS: BOMBARDMENT, ATTACK TO BE MADE ON FORD ISLAND AT 7:30 A.M.” — Brig. Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell, Report to the War Dept., July1924 By W. Knox Richardson No one knew they were coming, it is thought. No one knew the Japanese would attack Hawaii that quiet Sunday morning 65 years ago. Right? Oahu was completely unprepared for the surprise aerial assault that came at 7:50 a.m., Dec. 7, 1941—a full 20 minutes later than Billy Mitchell forecast more than 17 years earlier. While there was no official warning, some people did suspect an attack was coming. A few had considered this notion a fact for years, planning and preparing for it in strange ways. Those few were the Robinsons, the family that then and still owns Niihau, the smallest of the main Hawaiian Islands, a place that has been shrouded in secrecy for nearly 150 years, just 18 miles west of Kauai. Moreover, in December 1941, Niihau is where—for the first time since the War of 1812—a foreign military force occupied U.S. soil and took hostage a civilian population, an incident that directly led to the wartime internment of tens of thousands of Japanese Americans.

  But just how did the Robinson family gain such foreknowledge and what they do about it? Who told them and why? To solve that mystery we must first travel back in time, and to do that we must revisit the place where The Last Good War began so swiftly and our national innocence ended so abruptly—Pearl Harbor.

  On December 7, 2006, three score and five years after the Day of Infamy, the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island opened its doors to the public. Located at this nation’s first Ground Zero—a spot exactly the middle of maelstrom that was Pearl Harbor—the museum is housed in several 1930s-vintage, bullet-ridden hangars in the shadow of the famed red-and-white tower. The new Pacific Aviation Museum attempts to capture and convey those few moments in Pacific war history—where the airplane had a starring role—and help visitors of this modern, instant-on era understand, appreciate and grasp the importance of what really happened.

  Among the first exhibits to greet visitors is a fully restored Japanese fighter. This particular plane is a Mitsubishi-designed Zero A6M2-21, built under license by Nakajima, the same type of fighter that attacked Pearl Harbor, although the museum’s Zero rolled out of the factory a year later on December 14, 1942. This Zero was based in the Solomon Islands, where it flew against American fighter squadrons, including the U.S. Navy’s VF-17 “Jolly Rogers,” Greg “Pappy” Boyington’s VM-F-214 “Black Sheep,” and the Cactus Air Force of Guadalcanal.

  The hulk was recovered from Balalle Island in the Solomons in 1969 and restored in Canada using parts of several wrecks. The museum acquired the plane last year from the Confederate Air Force, a non-profit group that restores and flies vintage military aircraft.

  This plane has been reconfigured and remarked to depict the plane that was flown on December 7 by Naval Airman First Class Shigenori Nishikaichi, a flight petty officer from the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu. Nishikaichi piloted one of nine Zeros dispatched from the Hiryu for the second wave of the Oahu raid. His targets were on the windward side of the island —he attacked both the Marine Corps station at Kaneohe Bay and Bellows Army Airfield at Waimanalo. While attacking, his plane was hit by ground-based machine gun fire and was bleeding fuel and oil badly as he ended his strafing runs at Bellows.

  After the raid, Nishikaichi turned his wounded plane northwest toward Kauai Island and the predetermined rendezvous. There a guide plane would meet up with and escort returning attackers back to the fleet maintaining radio silence to avoid detection by American signal intelligence units.

  Failing to locate the rendezvous plane, Nishikaichi and a second fighter, also in trouble, turned toward the island of Niihau, believed by the Japanese High Command to be uninhabited. There he was to make an unopposed landing and wait for a rescue submarine he thought would be waiting to recover and return him to the fleet.

  Unknown to him, the submarine had been redeployed earlier but word never reached Hiryu’s flyers. Before reaching Niihau, the second plane veered off and crashed into reefs.

  What the Japanese didn’t know—and still remains somewhat of a mystery to this day—is that since 1933 the Robinsons had been secretly digging two-foot deep furrows into the land at Niihau in a hatched pattern with trenches laid out every 100 yards or so.

  The Robinsons had been warned by a stealthy army officer—only recently identified as Maj. Gerald C. Brant—that the Japanese were planning to use Niihau as a forward air base to launch a full-scale invasion of the Territory of Hawaii. (Editor’s Post Publication Note: Brant has now been confirmed to be a Lieutenant Colonel in 1993 when he served as “air officer in the Hawaiian Department,” of the U.S. Army. SOURCE: New York Times, Feb. 13, 1932.)

  An ex-cavalry officer turned aviator, Maj. Brant was a cohort of Col. Billy Mitchell and had testified for him as his famous court marshal in 1925. Brant was fully aware of Mitchell’s public prognostications regarding a possible attack on Hawaii, as well as the classified reports that got Mitchell into hot water with military commanders in Hawaii.

  It was Brant—the surviving Robinsons reportedly believe—who convinced their ancestors to dig trenches, first by mule and later by tractor, for nearly eight years, completing the tasks in the summer of 1941, a few months before the surprise attack.

  Thus, when Nishikaichi attempted to land, he was horrified to see Niihau both inhabited and with air defenses in place. He crashed in a remote part of the island and was rescued from his plane by a local Hawaiian and respected community leader, Howard Kaleohano, who took Nishikaichi’s gun and papers.

  Yoshio Harada—a Japanese-born immigrant and one of only three residents of Japanese heritage living on the island—successfully interrogated Nishikaichi. The pilot confessed about the state of war. But Harada kept that news to himself. That night, when word of the attack reached the island by radio, Nishikaichi was questioned again more publically.

  Some days later, after nightly signal fires failed to gain Kauai’s attention, Kaleohano gave the captured pilot’s papers to a relative for safekeeping and then set out with a group of stout islanders in a whale boat, where they rowed the 14-hour, open-ocean trip to Kauai to inform Aylmer Robinson, their boss, and the military.

  In the meantime, Nishikaichi played on Harada’s mixed Japanese-American loyalties and convinced him to assist with a plan for death with honor. He persuaded Harada to steal back his pistol and obtain a shotgun, the only other firearm on the island. The two seized control of the village where they took prisoners before stripping the machine guns off the crashed Zero. Failing to raise anyone on the aircraft’s radio, they tried to burn the plane but the fire did not spread beyond the cockpit.

  The following morning, December 13, Harada and Nishikaichi captured Ben Kanahele and his wife, also natives of the island. They ordered Kanahele to find Howard Kaleohano and retrieve the pilot’s military papers. Kanahele refused. Nishikaichi then threatened to shoot Mrs. Kanahele if her husband didn’t cooperate.

  Without regard for his own life, Ben Kanahele leapt at Yoshio Harada for control of the shotgun. Nishikaichi quickly pulled his pistol and shot Kanahele three times, once each in the chest, hip and groin.

  Mrs. Kanahele dove at the Japanese pilot and had to be pulled off by Harada. While Harada and Mrs. Kanahele grappled, and although severly wounded himself, Ben Kanahele grabbed the pilot by his neck and leg and hurled him like a rodeo calf, head first, into a stone wall. Mrs. Kanahele then bashed his head in with a large rock. In the heat of the moment, to ensure the invader was dead, Kanahele slit his throat with a knife. Harada, seeing the tide turn so quickly, took the shotgun and committed suicide.

  The next afternoon, the authorities arrived, taking Mrs. Harada and Ishimatsu Shintani, the other ethnic Japanese, into custody. Shintani was sent to an internment camp and later returned to Niihau, where he attained U.S. citizenship in 1960. Irene Harada was imprisoned for three years, and was released in 1945. She was never charged any crime.

  (Ben Kanahele was deemed a hero and sometime later received awards and medals. His son is expected to attend the opening of the museum.)

  Within a few months of the attack, this seemingly minor incident would greatly influence the thinking and decisions of the whole government. The Niihau episode led directly to FDR’s Executive Order 9066, signed on Feb. 19, 1942, “relocating” all residents of Japanese ancestry from restricted areas, mostly along the west coast of the mainland—an acknowledged act of wrongdoing yet one upheld by the Supreme Court as constitutional.

  The second stop at the Pacific Aviation Museum is called “The Niihau Exhibit” displaying both the tractor that dug the defensive furrows along with the actual airframe skeletal remains of Nishikaichi’s Zero, only recently unearthed and recovered by the museum from the private island of Niihau.

  Other aircraft on display include a flyable Navy Wildcat fighter, an Army Air Corps B-25 “Mitchell” Bomber like those used in the 1942 raid on Toyko, and the exact 1942 Stearman Biplane former President George H. W. Bush used to first solo as an 18-year-old naval aviation candidate. Lastly, hanging from the rafters as if in eternal flight, is an innocuous little Aeronca 65TC – a two-place, tandem-seat civilian trainer that was in the air and took enemy fire during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Future exhibits will focus on Korea, Vietnam and Cold War aviation.

  As visitors enter the museum, they watch a short documentary on military aviation in the Pacific. In addition to displaying historic aircraft, the museum offers opportunities for visitors to experience an exciting hands-on flight simulator. The museum also has an aviator-style restaurant and a gift shop.

  Tickets will be available at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum or the Museum’s ticket office. General admission is $14 for adults, $7 for children; admission for Hawaii residents and military is $10 for adults and $5 for children; and all active duty military in uniform will receive free admission. For ticket information, please call (808) 690-0169. Civilians must take public transportation to the museum on Ford Island; military with base access may drive and park.

  A SIDEBAR ON HISTORY

  Mystery Still Unsolved
  Operating Alone or On Orders?

  If in 1933 Army Maj. Gerald Clark Brant (1880-1958) was indeed the military officer that visited Niihau and met with the Robinsons, the question remains as to his lawful authority. (Editor’s note: It has been established that Brant was actually a Lieutentant Colonel in 1933.)

  Was he working in an official capacity? That idea lends credence to the long-assumed theories the U.S. Government knew much more—in general —about a possible Japanese attack than it let on. Defenses of Oahu were certainly inadequate at the time of the attacks. Yet, if the Army could convince the Robinsons to wreak havoc to their land, it certainly would have better prepared Oahu. Right?

  If Brant was operating independently, what evidence did he produce to motivate the decade-long task of furrowing the island’s possible landing strips? Did Brant divulge anything classified, and, if so, just what was that information? Was he operating alone or on orders? Moreover, was Billy Mitchell involved?

  In 1932, Oahu had been “captured” during a massive inter-services Pacific battle game held by the War Department. Now, a year later, Brant certainly had access to Hawaii defense secrets and may have just been a very concerned, well-informed citizen trying to do what one man could to prepare for an attack he was sure would come. The Japanese had already invaded China. To Brant, an attack on Hawaii was just a matter of time.

  Brant’s career stalled after he testified at Mitchell’s court marshal. Although he eventually rose to the rank of major general, his wartime commands included only the joint defense air forces of Newfoundland and a training command along the Gulf Coast. He retired from the U.S.A.F. in 1948 and died 10 years later.

  So what did the U. S. Government know and when did they know it?

  There is no apparent official record of Brant’s pre-war adventures in Hawaii – no letters, no reports, no nothing. It is a mystery.

  (Editor’s Note: Since publication of the printed version of this story, this newspapaer has learned the family of Gen. Brant has recently uncovered more pre-War documentation regarding Brant, Billy Mitchell and his prophetic views, and the defense of Hawaii. Additionally, letters between Brant and Chief of Staff Marshall and Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold from 1939 to 1941 in the war planning files of the Pentagon have been identified and are being requested for release. The news of the pre-War relationship between the Robinson family and the War Deparment was reporedly declassfied just this year, according to sources close to the Robinson family.)

  W. Knox Richardson is the editor and publisher of the Oahu Island News, an island-wide community newspaper serving the City and County of Honolulu.

  Public domain reference resources were used in compiling this report.
  
  DOWNLOAD JPEG FILES OF THE PRINTED EDITION OF THIS STORY.

  Click here to download page one
  Click here to download page six
  Click here to download page 12

  ]]> 2006-12-03T11:08:00-10:00